Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Abandon definition

What does Abandon mean? Describes, in construction practice, a situation where a contractor stops carrying out the works for a sustained period without lawful excuse or contractual entitlement and with no genuine intention to resume. The term is descriptive rather than statutory; courts in the UK and Ireland assess such conduct under principles of material/repudiatory breach. Many construction and PPP/PFI contracts expressly deem abandonment where the contractor ceases work for a specified consecutive period (for example, around 20 business days) or for an aggregate non‑consecutive period over the project (for example, around 60 business days). The cessation must be wilful and unjustified. Lawful...

UK CMA merger investigation (archived): Prosafe/Floatel—semi‑submersible ASVs (flotels), North West Europe; provisional SLC; prohibition remedy; deal abandoned; phase 2 cancelled (Feb 2020)

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

CASE HUB ARCHIVED

This archived case hub sets out the position as at 13 February 2020, when the investigation was cancelled following the Abandonment of the Transaction; it is no longer maintained. See the timeline for more information.

Case facts

Outline of a UK merger investigation into Prosafe SE’s proposed acquisition of Floatel International Limited. The deal presents horizontal overlaps in the market for supplying semi-submersible offshore accommodation support vessels (“flotels”) to oil and gas firms.

Latest developments

On 13 February 2020, the CMA formally cancelled its phase 2 investigation after the parties decided to Abandon the transaction.

Parties

Prosafe SE is a Norway-based company, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, which owns and operates semi-submersible accommodation vessels. Prosafe runs nine such vessels, each providing 300–500 berths, with options for the delivery of two additional vessels over the next five years.
Floatel International is a Bermuda-based company that owns and operates semi-submersible accommodation vessels. Floatel runs five such vessels, each with capacity for 440–550 berths. Between them, the great majority of both parties’ operations are in the North Sea and offshore Brazil.

Background

Under...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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